Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen stated that he beleives that VR will be “like 1000 times bigger” than AR. The entreprenuer, who is also a member of Facebook’s board of directors, made the comments on his company’s bi-weekly podcast.

This is the opposite of the view stated by many tech leaders and visionaries today. As Andreessen put it: “In the Valley right now, this is a very contrarian view.”

At OC5, Facebook outlined the differences in engineering of AR and VR

The venture capitalist explained his reasoning by pointing out that most people’s real life surroundings aren’t particuarly interesting, so the appeal of the reality they could live in VR will outweigh the advantage of overlaying content into their real world.

To be clear, Andreessen isn’t saying AR won’t be compelling. This was a statement in support of VR, not one against AR. The venture capitalist was careful to state that he believed AR “has tons of potential applications, both at work and at home”.

Full Comments

“So I’m big believers I think VR is going to be like 1000 times bigger. In the valley right now this is a very contrarian view. Because the general theme you hear in the valley is that AR is going to be bigger than VR, and it seems like obviously AR should be bigger than VR because obviously if you can do things overlaid over the real world, that should be inherently more interesting than having to construct a synthetic world.

I just think that that’s only true for people who live in a very interesting place in the real world. But only something between like 0.1% and 1% of people on Earth live in a place where they wake up every morning and they’re like ‘Wow, there are so many interesting things to see’. Most people don’t live in a place like that. And so for everybody who doesn’t already live on a college campus or in Silicon Valley or in a major city, the new environments we’re going to be able to create in VR are going to be inherently be much more interesting (than the physical environments). And there’s going to be a lot more of them to choose from, and so it’s going to be amazing.”

The Oscar-winning actor will lend his voice to an augmented tour highlighting the infamous musician. Next Tuesday marks the 72nd birthday of late english singer-songwriter David Bowie, whom passed away nearly three years ago in his NYC apartment after an ongoing battle with liver cancer. Despite his crippling affliction, the legendary musician still managed to

Following last year’s release of an enterprise version of Blade, a pair of augmented reality smart glasses that resemble traditional sunglasses, Vuzix confirmed dates and pricing for its consumer model. Previously referred to as “Blade General,” the retail version of Blade is available for preorder today at $1,000 and is shipping in 4-6 weeks.

Unlike some AR headset rivals, Blade isn’t designed to operate wholly on its own, instead relying on an Android phone or iPhone for data services. Wearers are able to see the real world through their lenses, augmented with a rectangular waveguide display that produces a bright, floating color image that’s easy to view.

The screen enables users to view emails, images such as restaurant menus, text messages, media player controls, and map navigation instructions, all of which can be addressed using frame-side controls and, in some cases, multilingual voice commands. Vuzix is now promising both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant support. Additionally, an integrated camera can record 8-megapixel photos and 720p videos.

Blade is powered by a quad-core ARM CPU and a customized version of Android OS, with integrated gyroscope hardware for basic head tracking. It uses Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for wireless communications and has a microSD port to store content.

Vuzix has been working to define an audience for Blade since debuting the hardware at CES in 2017. It now expects that the retail version of Blade will appeal to workers whose hands are otherwise occupied, as well as disabled users who struggle to use conventional smartphones. The retail model will support prescription lens inserts at a premium of approximately $200.

Apart from third-party app support, which at the moment appears to be quite limited, the biggest question marks for Blade are battery life and whether consumers are willing to spend so much for relatively basic “AR” functionality. More information will likely be shared ahead of the product’s wider availability in February.

Pokémon Go made almost $800 million in global revenue in 2018, according to market analysis firm Sensor Tower. That is up 35 percent compared to 2017.

Pokémon Go debuted in June 2016, and it became an immediate hit. The location-based mobile game’s popularity fell off a bit after that blistering start, but developer Niantic has been able to build a massive player base with constant updates, including the addition of more Pokémon and new features (such as trading and trainer battling).

Niantic’s free-to-play game had a strong December to close out the year, with player spending reaching $75 million for the month. That was up 32 percent from the $57.2 million Pokémon Go made in December 2017. This was likely thanks to the December launch of player battles, something the community has been clamoring for.

U.S. leads in spending

U.S. players spent the most money on the game, contributing $262 million, which is 33 percent of that $800 million total. That is the same percentage as 2017. Japan was close behind with $239 million, which is 30 percent of the global total. That is up from the 25 percent that Japan accounted for in 2017.

Pokémon Go’s total revenues since launch now stand at $2.2 billion. Sensor Tower notes that it’s possible the game hits the $3 billion mark in 2019.

The company today announced a new version of its device designed specifically for Sony’s headset. 3dRudder consists of a circular platform players put their feet on whilst seated. They then tilt their feet in the direction they want to move in VR. The idea is to simulate movement in a more convincing and comfortable way. Check out the PSVR version in the new trailer below.

3dRudder says that over 20 games will support the kit, though right now just 7 are listed on its website. They include some well-known titles like Ultrawings, Sairento and the excellent Red Matter. The main attraction, though, is the upcoming PSVR port of Carbon Studios’ The Wizards. That support will be shown off at CES in Las Vegas this week.

We reviewed the original 3dRudder for PC VR back in 2017. We said it was ‘surprisingly accurate’ and could be of use to those that suffer from simulation sickness. The PSVR version will live and die by the kind of support it gets, though. The current list is a decent start but if games like Resident Evil 7, Firewall and Skyrim VR got support then this could be a winner.

It’s not cheap, though. 3dRudder PSVR costs $119 and is expected to arrive in April. Would you be willing to throw down the extra cash if it meant making VR a bit more immersive?

We’re at CES next week, so we’ll let you know if we get a chance to try it out.

Gaming’s most frightening hallway is even creepier in VR. In August of 2014, Konami Productions published a short-form first-person psychological horror game entitled P.T.. Meant to serve as an interactive teaser for an upcoming Silent Hills game directed by Hideo Kojima in collaboration with legendary film director Guillermo Del Toro, the playable demo featured an

Pokémon Go creator Niantic has closed a $190 million round of funding, according to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

That all but confirms that Niantic is raising money precisely at a time when it doesn’t need it. Niantic declined comment, but the filing comes after a Wall Street Journal report last month that said the company was closing a $200 million funding from investors, including IVP, aXiomatic Gaming and Samsung, at a value of $3.9 billion.

The round closed on December 20, according to the new documents. Niantic has now raised more than $415 million to date. The filing said there are 26 investors in the round. Other investors include The Pokemon Company, Google, Founders Fund, Spark Capital and Alsop Louie Partners, among others. There’s an old maxim among startups that the best time to raise money is when you don’t need it; you get the best terms that way, and can sock away money for a rainy day.

Earlier today, measurement firm Sensor Tower said that Pokémon Go made almost $800 million in global revenue in 2018, 35 percent compared to 2017.

I’ve been playing Pokémon Go since it debuted in June 2016. The game became a huge international hit. The popularity faded a bit after that, but Niantic has been rebuilding interest by adding more features like new Pokémon creatures, events, friends, and most recently trainer battles.

That raises the question. Why would a company need a round it doesn’t appear to need? The answer: Niantic’s ambitions are bigger than they seem. John Hanke, CEO of San Francisco-based Niantic, had a larger purpose in starting Niantic, whose first game was the location-based title Ingress. It was meant to get people off the couch and out of their homes and visiting local landmarks, such as parks or statues. It helped generate a huge interest in walking outside; at level 30, I have collected 2.3 million XP and walked untold miles.

Above: Pokemon Go could be a bit mobile hit.

Image Credit: Niantic/Nintendo

Niantic recently said it wants to replicate the technology behind the original Pokémon Go video, which featured seamless integration of an animated creature with the real world. The way to do that is with augmented reality, which is possible on modern smartphones. But Niantic joined other companies in investing in DigiLens, a holographic wave guide maker, because it wants to create AR glasses.

That venture is ambitious, and it won’t be cheap. It’s not clear whether Niantic simply wants to make software for AR glasses, or if it wants to make the AR glasses itself. The more money it raises, the more it will have the option of creating its own AR glasses.

Oculus Go is a great bit of kit for sharing with friends and family. Just pop the headset on, grab the controller and you’re ready to go. But there is just one problem: no one can see what you’re actually doing in VR. That is unless you use Oculus Go casting.

Casting lets you mirror what’s being shown inside your Go onto another screen. That way everyone else gets to see what you’re doing and can join in on the VR jubilation. You can only cast to a mobile device connected to your Go. TV casting is said to be in the works but, as of the start of 2019, we’re not quite sure when it’ll show up.

With that in mind, let’s take you through Oculus Go casting.

Download The Oculus App And Connect Your Go

If you have a Go, this is something you’ve probably done as Go’s setup process uses the smartphone app. But, just in case you haven’t done that yet, read along. Download the free Oculus app from the iOS or Android app stores, open it up and find settings on the bottom right. From here, you’ll be able to pair your Go with your phone by selecting ‘Pair New Headset’. Oculus prepared its own snazzy step-by-step walkthrough to guide you through that process that you can’t go wrong with.

Already done this? Then go into settings in the app, find your Go under headsets and click on it. It’ll connect automatically.

Make Sure Your Go Is On, Your App Is Connected And Find Sharing

Upon booting up your Go and pairing your motion controller, you’ll be in the headset’s main menu. From here, find the toolbar at the bottom (if it’s not there click the Oculus button on your controller) and you’ll see a tab called ‘Sharing’. Click that and you’ll find the option to ‘Cast’. Select that yet again and then press ‘Start’. Your phone should get a notification asking if you want to enable Oculus Go casting. Accept and huzzah! Your VR display will be mirrored on your phone.

How To Stop Casting

There are a few simple ways to stop casting. First, you can just press the back button on your phone and you’ll exit out into the Oculus app. To do it inside VR, go back to the menu, back to ‘Sharing’, select ‘Cast’ and then ‘Stop Casting’.

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And that’s that. Simple, right? Just take note that casting can be battery intensive for your Go and might not always provide smooth results. And we’ll keep you up to date with when TV casting comes into play!

Need more help with Oculus Go? Check out our guide on pairing console gamepads with the kit!

We are just four days into 2019 and preparing to head to Las Vegas to see all the companies revealing products and components at the largest consumer electronics show of the year, CES.

We’ll also be stopping by The Void’s Vegas location to see Wreck It Ralph VR and we are planning to check out attractions at other Vegas VR locations while we’re there.

At CES the world’s global technology industry gauges interest and sets expectations for the coming year. We expect HTC to be out in front, as they were in 2016 with the original Vive headset, with the release of an image of the cosmos inside the Vive logo, and text blurred out on bags nearby.

See, there’s the Vive Cosmos right there inside the logo in the left corner:

This year, though, we expect CES to be overshadowed by what isn’t at the conference, because we believe some of the companies making the biggest plays for VR or AR products in the next few years have little reason to make major appearances at CES 2019.

Facebook’s VR teams, for instance, are currently dedicated to making a success of its $400 Oculus Quest headset, and there’s not much in Las Vegas to help them accomplish that feat with its launch likely in the next few months.

Developers are hard at work at home on 50+ games — many of them ports of existing work — for the launch of the low cost standalone headset with Touch controllers, while Facebook’s teams polish the operating system and services which runs on the system. PC headset owners and PC gamers who sat the first generation of VR out are hungry for information about the Rift S or whatever the Rift follow up might be called, but Facebook’s given no indication its teams will talk about that before CEO Mark Zuckerberg sees how Quest is received.

And while I was joking earlier about the “Vive Cosmos”, we really don’t know what to expect from HTC’s VR announcements.

We saw SteamVR 2.0 base stations for the first time at CES 2018.

Valve and Microsoft are also invested in the future of the PC VR market but we’re not sure if they’ll be showing major updates related to the conference. From 2015-2018, each company used its tracking technology to secure partnerships allowing them to market test VR while building out meaningful platforms for VR centered around the openness of PC. This also allowed these companies to minimize risk in VR technology’s first consumer generation. Google and Facebook did something similar based around Android on cell phones.

In 2019, though, there’s more at stake.

VR exercise machines shown with HTC Vive at CES 2017.

U.S.-based companies like Microsoft, Valve, Google and Facebook are under pressure to take VR hardware performance further, increase immersion to new levels, lower overall cost and deliver hand-controlled games like Beat Saber, Job Simulator and Superhot that people proved they’ll pay for in VR.

Overall, this means at the same time researchers and engineers at those companies are developing and patenting the next

Former Microsoft Senior Researcher Dr. Hrvoje Benko gave a talk entitled ‘The Future of AR Interactions’ at the International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR) conference in October. This week the talk was uploaded on the ISMAR YouTube channel.

Dr Benko had worked at Microsoft since 2005, but moved to Facebook Reality Labs (formerly Oculus Research) in late 2017. He now leads the human computer interfaces (HCI) division there.

A Great Display Is Not Enough

A core point that Benko stressed multiple times during the talk is that a great AR display in itself is not good enough — a new input paradigm that takes advantage of spatial computing is needed.

Benko used the example of smartphones with large displays that existed before the iPhone but lacked a multitouch input interface. He pointed out how Hololens and other current AR devices unsuccessfully try to use existing input techniques.

Finger Tracking Is Not Enough

Benko explained that while finger tracking technology is rapidly progressing, humans don’t often interact with empty air — we interact with objects. The only time we tend to use our hands in empty air is when gesticulating during speech.

The lack of haptic feedback with only finger tracking, he claims, is jarring, and is unlikely to be the basis of future interfaces.

Surfaces May Be The Key

Benko pointed out that mixed reality interfaces could leverage the already existing surfaces in the environment to provide real haptic feedback.

Menus could appear on the nearest table or wall, and your fingers could manipulate the virtual UI elements on these surfaces.

This obviously requires a very advanced sensor system with a precise understanding of all the major objects in the room, as well as almost perfect finger tracking.

‘Haptic Retargeting’

https://uploadvr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/HapticRetargeting.mp4

The issue with using real world surfaces of course is that often they won’t be sufficient for the task at hand. As Benko puts it: “passive haptics don’t scale.”

One of the most interesting research projects Benko recounted was ‘Haptic Retargeting’. This trick allows one physical haptic object to act as many virtual objects by warping the body movement you see in the headset. This is situationally dependent, but the concept if applied correctly to the user’s environment could be revolutionary.

Haptic Controllers: ‘VR Revolver’

One of the last projects Benko worked on at Microsoft before his move to Facebook was a pair of haptic controllers which can ‘render’ the feeling of an object under your fingertips.

Dubbed ‘Haptic Revolver’, the controller used a roller of different materials which can be actuated on demand based on what you’re touching in game. Benko stressed that it didn’t particularly matter exactly what input the fingertip received. As long as something happened, the brain accepted it as valid input.